This one gets off to a strange start. You will be witnessing a series of ill events, each of which befalls the next person to come into possession of a mysterious star map. That cursed map changes hands often, and in doing so claims many a victim. The map itself is not even readable by any who are unfortunate enough to own it. That remains true until Captain Malcolm Reynolds manages to win it in a card game on an Outer Rim moon. Of course trouble follows anyone who owns the map, and things are no different for Mal once he takes possession; however, he does have an advantage that the previous owners did not. That advantage is River Tam. River claims that the map reveals the location of one of the legendary Arks, ancient generational ships that traveled from Earth-That-Was to the Verse, and carried humanity across the stars with them. Everyone living in the Verse is a descendent of those that came on the those ships and the technology that made it possible no longer exists. That means if River is right then the salvage potential of finding such a ship is enormous. This looks like it could be the big score the crew has been waiting for; however, River isn't telling the entire truth. There is something else waiting at the end of that map, something the Alliance wants kept secret at all costs.

The Girl and the Stars is a tale of magic, mysticism, science fiction, and survival. Like Lawrence's Books of the Ancestor series, The Girl and the Stars takes place on the planet Abeth, which was colonized by humans despite its dying sun. Only a narrow belt around the equator is kept warm by a satellite that concentrates solar energy into a laser. A few nomadic tribes eke out a living on the ice beyond that belt and theirs is a harsh way of life that sacrifices any children deemed unacceptable before they can become a drain on a clan's resources. As Yaz arrives at this year's gathering she expects to be rejected by the priests. She's neither small and weak, nor growing too fast and eating too much, but she is different. There is something inside her that lets her see beyond the surface of the physical world to a river that only she can touch and draw upon. As anticipated the priest sees her difference, but instead of casting her into the pit to die he pulls her aside before pushing her younger brother over the edge. Without thought Yaz jumps to save her brother and discovers that everything the priests have told her people is a lie.

Mal and crew have taken a transport job from Badger and something about it doesn't feel quite right. They need to pick up an unknown crate from a distant planet and deliver it to Badger on a tight schedule, no questions asked. However, Mal does have questions and he plans to ask them. When they finally arrive at the pickup point a little bit late, it puts both sides on edge. When Mal asks the other group what's in the crate it just escalates the situation. The well armed individuals with the crate aren't talking and their guns are ready to back up their silence. Mal's gut tells him this is a bad deal so he decides they need to pull out. Then in a very Firefly fashion, one thing leads to another and it all goes sideways. Mal's instincts were right, but they were also too late, as the Ghost Machine is already starting to affect him and the crew and they may not survive the experience.

1986's Barbary is a straightforward and short Sci-Fi novel about the twelve year old Barbary moving to her new home on a space station just when an alien vessel is approaching it. She smuggles her kitten on board with  her and doing so has an unexpected impact on Earth's first contact with an alien species. 1998's The Moon and the Sun is a historical fantasy set in the court of Louis XV. Marie-Josephé is a Lady-in-Waiting to the King's niece and her brother is his Natural Philosopher who has returned in triumph from the new world with a captive sea monster, a mermaid. As Marie-Josephé assists her brother is studying the creature she realizes that it is intelligent and she becomes determined to save it from becoming the King's dinner.

The war between the Union and the Congregate continues on with each side looking for a way to gain the upper hand. The Congregate has the bigger military by far, while the Union has the advantage of fighting on their own turf and being supported by the Homo Eridanus, who are unparalleled in their fighter pilot abilities. So when the Homo Eridanus start to run up against pilots that can almost match their dig fighting skills they know that the balance of power is shifting. Searching for an explanation in the wreckage of a dogfight reveals that the Congregate has somehow managed to turn the completely peaceful Homo Quantus into fighter pilots. These Homo Quantus appear to be augmented with some kind of AI and wired directly into their fighters turning them into deadly weapons against their will. Of course, that is not something that Belisarius is going to stand by and let happen.

The Expanse is one of the best sci-fi series around and it is sad to see it end. For 9 books, and a handful of novellas, a gritty, believable future has acted as a backdrop for a likable set of characters that have become old friends. The crew of the Rocinante, who we first met back in Leviathan Wakes, is at the center of the storm with humanity's future on the line. Elvi Okoye is desperately trying to uncover who the gate builders were, and what destroyed them; however, she is running out of time as their ancient enemy is now awake. Unless she comes up with a better option, it looks like Winston Duarte's dream of evolving humanity through the proto-molecule may be the only way to withstand them. James Holden is certainly not ok with it and Naomi is still leading the resistance against the Laconians, but the conflict is a giant distraction from the existential threat of the awoken ancient enemy. Can we get our act together to ensure the survival of our species or are we doomed to go the way of the gate builders?

A year has passed since the end of One Second After, which explored the dire consequences of the US being hit by an EMP attack, and once again we are back with retired Colonel John Matherson in a small North Carolina town. However, this time the threat being faced is very different as the United States tries to reform a functional government and not everyone is aligned on who that should be and what it should look like. It all starts when half of the town receives draft notices to report for active duty in the newly formed Army of National Recovery (ANR) and that includes John's own daughter, who is a single mom to an infant child. Losing half the town would condemn those that remain to certain death, not to mention that most don't recognize the authority of this new government. What to do about it though when the town doesn't even have power yet the ANR seems to have working aircraft and the military strength to enforce their will?

I really enjoy the fact that Andy Weir emphasizes Science in his science fiction writing and when he paired that focus with a memorable main character in The Martian it resulted in a compelling story and follow on movie. In his second book, Artemis, he kept the science strong but he lacked that solid main character and the result was just ok. Now he is back with his latest offering, Project Hail Mary, and once again science takes the center stage from the very first page of the book. The main character starts an un-named individual that has been woken by a computer who is asking him simple questions, yet he is unable to answer them. He is just too weak, and his throat is too dry, for him to utter anything intelligible but the real question is why? and where is he? He's in a small room, that he has no memory of entering, and there appear to be two corpses in the room with him. It's time for some science!

World War III began with Chinese warbots walking out of the ocean near Washington D.C. They were initially held off by the Outlaw Motorcycle Club, who happened to be holding their annual rally outside the city, but the situation just kept escalating both on Earth and in space. For ten years humanity did its worst to destroy both the Earth and themselves until the alien bugs came along and forced peace with their superior technology. The survivors now live in a drastically altered climate with discarded bio-weapons and deadly technology hidden beneath the surface. Thanks to their early heroics, the Outlaws now have a strong relationship with the US government. One of their most well known heroes was a twelve year old girl named Shining Smith who single-handedly brought down one of the Mother Warbots and earned her status as the first female made-man of the Outlaws. Sadly Shining, known as Little Girl to the club, died not long after. Or did she? The club received a distress signal from her old kutte (battle vest) which leads the Enforcer Jagger to a junkyard in the desert formerly known as West Virginia. There he finds a strange woman and her even stranger cats under attack.

Reese Roberts is an old drunk that is bound to a wheelchair with little to live for. In fact, as far as he is concerned, he has nothing to live for and the world would be a better place without him. But it wasn't always that way. Reese used to prowl the streets of Iron City and do what needed to be done to protect the city and clean up the streets. As the vigilante known as The Roach, Reese was fearless and he preyed upon the gangs and criminals that dared to try to make Iron City their home. He was really making a difference until that fateful night when a bullet found a seam in his protective armor and left him paralyzed from the waist down. That was five years ago and The Roach was never heard from again, fading into legend as the streets of Iron City fell back into the hands of the corrupt. It's all too much for Reese to bear and the day has come to put an end to his suffering.